Category: Festool Stuff

Well, it looks as there’s another new tool entering the oscillating tool market in Australia with Festool announcing the release of their new cordless Vecturo, the OSC 18.

Due for release in the UK in April 2019, when it hits the Australian market I would anticipate the price to be in the vicinity of $1200 to AUD 1300, for the set version. The set version for release in the UK comes with a dust extraction device, positioning aid, depth stop, adapter, 3 blades, a single 3.1ah battery, and TCL6 charger, all packed in a sys 2 t lock systainer.

The battery interface appears to suit the standard 18v platform so if you have more batteries with a higher amperage you should be set as I don’t feel you’ll get sufficient run time from a 3.1ah battery to suit most applications.

Whether Festool Australia keeps this configuration or changes, it is anyone’s guess. From the video and available images, it appears to be compatible with the Fein star lock blades though I am concerned that on the marketing information it states that it has a star lock plus tool holder. I’m hoping that this is a Festool version of the Fein Multimaster blade because if it’s different, it means you’ll be looking at a whole new blade system. I’d also hope that Festool has included an adapter so that customers who purchased the corded Vecturo can use their existing blade stock, (which is the old style supercut blade) with this tool

Let’s assume that we’ve just had a blade sharpened and we need to check the calibration between the cutting depth and the depth scale. Remember that when a saw blade is sharpened, you invariably lose a small amount of the blade diameter. After one sharpen it may not be noticeable, but after two or three sharpens there can be a variation in your cutting depth.

This method can also be used to fine tune the cutting depth if you’re using the saw on a different brand of guide rail, (not that I’d recommend that), as there can be a variation in the standard 5mm thickness between brands.

To calibrate the blade on a TS55R, place the base of the saw on a piece of paper (A4 copy paper is ideal), on aflat, smooth surface and set the depth guide to zero. As we’re not on the guide rail make sure you use the unmarked indicator rather than the FS indicator.

Depth Gauge set to zero. Note the blade calibration knob to the right of the FS mark.Fully Plunged, note the plunge stop resting on the calibration knob.

Once set, gently plunge the saw down until it stops and look to see if the tips of the blade are touching the paper

Blade too high

Adjust by turning the calibration knob on the top of the saw until the tips of the blade just touch the piece of paper and you’re done.

Blade set correctly

A good habit to get into is to periodically check this to make sure that your TS55 is working at its best at all times.

I hope you found this “Five minutes with Festool” useful and as always your questions and comments are appreciated.

Five minutes with Festool is the title of a new series of articles I’m working on which will give you an in depth view of a wide variety of Festool tools and accessories tied up in a bite sized package. With each article being about 500 words they’re intended to be a quick and informative read.

Being the lead salesperson in one of the busiest dealers in Melbourne I field a lot of questions about the whole range Festool products and this article, which covers the range of blades available for the Festool TS55 , will hopefully address some of the questions you may have about them

One of the projects that I’ve been putting a lot of time into recently is a book on pushing the boundaries on router trammel work so you can create pieces such as the Septafoil frame shown below.

(Please keep in mind the frame in the photo is a draft piece cut out of a 25mm thick MDF sheet and was created to test the process i’ve developed. The next one will be in hardwood)

The frame is trammel routed using the Festool MFS routing template long with my trusty Festool OF1010 router.

Frames like this are an exercise in geometry and begin as a design on my sketchpad which is where I create the form, and work out the angles and measurements so I can transfer them to my full size panel.

A couple of months ago I discovered the General Digital sliding T bevel and since then my design work has moved forward in leaps and bounds.

I use the general to set angles in sketches, to assess how a variation in angle changes the structure I’m developing and when I’m happy with a design, to quickly and accurately transfer the design onto a panel.

Please take the time to watch the video here which shows more applications for this awesome tool.

The General has four buttons next to the digital display which you use to operate the tool.

They are;

Power, the red one.

Zero, to zero the tool for use

Hold Flip, which either lock the current measurement on the display or flips the display so you don’t have to look at it upside down.

Reverse, Which changes the display from an reflex angle , (between 180 and 360 degrees) to a an acute angle.

All in all this is one of the most useful tools I’ve come across recently and I am certain you’ll find it a worth addition to your toolbox.

Recently released in Europe Festool’s new sanders the ETS EC 150/5 and ETS 150/3 are sure to be a hit when they reach the Australian market. With the latest in EC brushless motors these sanders have a host of new features to make the onerous task of sanding quicker and easier.

Some of the new features are a vibration sensor which automatically adjusts the sander speed when not under load to protect the user from excess vibration, constant speed under load, and a suction detection system which stops the sander if the dust extractor hose comes out, (this feature can be deactivated if you’re using a dust bag).

The new sanders have a height of 113mm including pad, compared to 185mm on the old ETS sanders and a weight of 1.2 kg which is 600 grams lighter than the old ETS sanders

Have a look at the video below to see the ETS EC 150 in action and watch for a cameo appearance by Blair, one of the principals of Festool Australia

Please watch this space and as more information comes to hand I’ll post it here

Another new tool to the Festool cordless line up is the new BHC 18 rotary hammer drill. This 2 mode rotary teams a festool brushless motor, with a 4.2ah battery which produces 1.8 Joule of power and has the capacity to drill 18mm in concrete, 13mm in steel and 25mm in wood.

The first video is from Festool and even though it’s in German, it’s one of the first videos i’ve seen that clearly shows the piston and hammer action which gives the rotary hammer drill its power. Try to pause the video at about the 33 second mark to get a good look at the guts of the tool.

Also worth noting is the anti vibration system which is essential for continual and safe use of this style of tool.

The next video is from Peter Parfitt’s New Brit Workshop and gives a really good overview of the tool including demonstrating the interconnect ability of the BHC 18v batteries with the 15.6 batteries from the standard Festool range. Make sure you pause the video around the 10min 40 second mark so you can have a look at new dust adapter which fits on a standard Festool hose and will give you dust free drilling for rotary hammer drilling for holes up to 12mm in diameter

I haven’t got a firm release date for this yet but anticipate it being released around August 1 to coincide with the release of the TSC 55.

I’ve had a couple of days off work with a rotten dose of the Flu and now that my brain is beginning to work again I’ve had a chance to trawl the web to come up with any info I could find on the new Festool products that will potentially be hitting our shores this year.

The Vecturo OS 400.

From discussions I have had with both Festool (Aust) and Fein (Aust) I can now confirm that the Vecturo is a joint venture between Festool and Fein and is a Fein Supercut that has been “Festoolized”.

Have a look at the video below that’s presented by Frank Jaksch, from Festool Germany for a good overview of the tool and make sure that you pay particular attention to the depth stop accessory and the positioning aid that are shown in the video. The positioning aid looks particularly interesting to me as it looks to solve the challenge of getting a square plunge cut which is a problem with any oscillating tool.

I’ll be interested to see how Festool market the Vecturo in Australia as any Fein stockist will confirm that the Fein Supercut is a bloody hard tool to sell owing to the price and the requirement for different blades. ( The Supercut can use multimaster blades with an adapter)

As yet there is no firm release date for the Vecturo in Australia but given that it has not hit Festool UK yet I think that it’s fairly certain that we wont see it here till the first quarter of 2015.

Anyway, thats all I have on the Vecturo. As more information comes to hand I’ll post it here.

I’ve finally had a chance to put pen to paper and complete my write up of the new CT 17E extractor.

It’s one of the Protool to Festool conversions and has evolved from the Protool VCP 170E. I found to be an excellent and highly efficient machine and to date has performed all the work I’ve expected of it with no hiccups at all.